Councillor calls for tougher packaging policy

Preston City Councillor John Potter has submitted a notice of motion that would force new retail shops over a certain size to have an excess packaging bin so customers can discard excess packaging they don’t want or need.

Liberal Democrat Potter’s motion states that any new retail applications over 350m2 (including the Tesco Metro planned for Tulketh Mill) will have to have the packaging bin in-store.

Councillor Potter said, “Every year Preston spends £2.5million on collecting our rubbish and recycling. This motion is about moving part of that responsibility onto the businesses that are putting too much packaging on the products we buy and use”.

“Most people except that some packaging is needed but object to items like apples and potatoes needing plastic or polystyrene bases which is then further wrapped up in film.

“It’s excessive and we, the taxpayer, are paying for it to be produced and then paying for it again to be taken away”.

Graham Thompson, spokesman for Greenpeace UK, praised Councillor Potter’s motion saying, “The slogan ‘reduce, re-use, recycle’ are in that order for a reason.

“The most efficient way to reduce the waste and energy use from packaging is to reduce the amount of packaging we use”.

Potter added, “Hopefully this will push businesses to reassess how much packaging they put on their products. Last year residents in Preston recycled 33% of their rubbish while businesses only managed to recycle 2.4% of their waste”.

“This motion would save the taxpayer money, ease the strain on council services and encourage businesses into greener and more cost effective methods”.

The notice of motion will be debated and voted on at full council on July 7th.